Carson and Ma

Close Call For "Woody"

This morning we were all sitting in the living room when we heard this loud thud against the window. I ran outside on the porch to see this little red-headed woodpecker laying on the porch. After I was sure it was not dead and just in shock, I let Tyler come out to admire it up close in my hands. About the time I was to set the bird down, our feathered friend flew out of my hands and through the open door inside our home, and up to the 12 ft. rafters.

As you can imagine, Tommy starts with a string of words that no one would want a 3 year old repeating and I run in circles trying to figure out how to get it before it starts pooping on our furniture or boring holes in the wall (we keep it together in stressful situations).

Ironically, the woodpecker flies into the kitchen and hits another window and lands in the sink. I ran and retrieved the bird and Tyler and I took it outside and sat beside it until it came out of shock for the second time. Finally, "Woody" took flight and safely found a tree.

Moral of the story: Do do check on an injured bird with the door open.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tyler says he is thankful for "cookies, chicken, robots and sweet baby Carson"

Carson Pulling Up!

Although Carson has been pulling up for over a week now, I had yet to catch it with my camera. Tommy just yelled to come look and low and behold Carson had crawled under a table and was standing up laughing. And consider it properly documented...

Group Slide

My mom and I took my Tyler, Carson, and cousins Dawson and Sophia to Bounce USA for the morning. It seemed like 90% of the time was spent holding hands and flying down the slide together. They were moving so fast I was having trouble catching it on my camera in focus. Even with the blur, I think you can still make out their faces and all the fun they were having. On the last few slide runs, G-Ma even got in on the action!

Just Hanging Out

Self Titled Artwork

When Tommy picked Tyler up this morning from school, Tyler's teacher handed over artwork to take home. Apparently, after Tyler was completed with his masterpieces, he proclaimed "This one is called "Walmart", and this one is "Robots". I know that it is obvious to everyone, but just in case..."Walmart" is the one on the left.

Guess Where We Are Going This December?

Bahamas baby!!!!! I know it is not nice to brag via blog, but... I am about to go to one of the most incredible places on earth for vacation! I think the boasting is almost out of my system. Tommy made the executive decision to book our family a flight to stay for a week at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas for a little vacation. We have much to celebrate with school out of the way, and since we have actually never taken a family vacation-we decided to justify the trip by also saying it is our Christmas present to ourselves this year (and probably for the next 5). Tyler tells us everyday that he is ready to go to the beach- he is only referring to what he reads about since he has never actually seen the ocean. The resort we are staying at has a water park, offers swimming with dolphins- and basically everything you would ever need to get me to shed tears when I have to return at the end of the week. Pictures and video will be plentiful and it might be March before you hear about something new. I will try to focus on other events and happenings to blog about until our return, so not to burn you out prior to the actual event. Did I mention I am going to the Bahamas for a week to do nothing more than build sand castles, nap on the beach, frolic in the water with my boys(ankle deep only- now that I am a mom, I think about sharks and undertows), lounge by the pool, drink overpriced fruity adult drinks with umbrellas, ride on a dolphins back and sail down water slides while gorging on fresh seafood under the breezy island horizon? There. Now it is out of my system.

King Of The Potty!

Good bye diapers, good bye pull-ups (at least during the day)...we are officially potty trained. Tyler has been going #2 for months now, but over the past few weeks has also mastered #1. He sleeps in a pull-up at night, but is commando during naps and has yet to have an accident. For the longest time Tommy and I were completely confused and frustrated over why he could not grasp the concept of letting us know if he needed to pee. Finally one day, Tommy asks, "Tyler, why do you pee in your pants?" To which he nonchalantly replied, "Because I can. I have a pull-up on." And that was that- big boy underwear from that minute on. I can literally count on one hand how many accidents he has had in the past month. I know this is a long blog about Tyler being potty trained but we are so tickled we could- well, pee.

Milestones

Somedays, I look back at the past week and it feels like only a day has passed by. I feel like time escapes me. Especially with Carson's milestones. They feel in particular like they are hitting a lot faster than Tyler's did. Maybe it is just a second-born thing, or maybe I am acutely aware since Carson is probably our last child. In the past few weeks, Carson has gone from barely crawling to now moving faster than I can catch him with my camera. It looks like he has crawled for months -- he is that fast and graceful. He is also saying "mama". Not occasionally, but ALL THE TIME. He yells it clear as day from his crib in the morning. His latest milestone is clapping. Sometimes during the day he will combine all his tricks for me and yell my name as he is chasing me down the hall. Once he is at my feet- he will laugh and clap and then stretch out his arms to be picked up. Two other random observations- he is chunking up just in time for the holidays and his eyelashes are really starting to come in. I looked back at Tyler's pictures and his really started to show at 9 months of age. It is really getting fun watching his personality come out a little more every day. Below I tried to capture him clapping. The second picture is how 99% of all pictures I take of him look now..on the go!

Carson's First Word Is....

"Mama!" And he says it very clear...and very often. I will get it on video soon, I promise. Along with him crawling about 15 mph and trying to pull up. Milestones are coming pretty quickly for this little boy!

Hard of Understanding

The other night Tyler and I were walking to the car and passed a group of boys signing to each other. Immediately, Tyler smiled at them and said "Hi". I explained to Tyler that they were deaf and could not hear him to which he nodded that he understood. I was shocked and thinking to myself that we might finally be getting to a stage where I was not going to hear "why" 1,000 times after every explaination. After about 10 seconds of silence, Tyler turned to the boys and yells as loud as he can, "I said hi!!!!!!". I knew that was too easy.

Pile On

Not to be left out of floor time, Carson is getting in on the mix at an early age. Did I mention that I am really concerned what my living room is going to look like over the next 18 years?

And You Wonder Why Tyler Is So Rough...

I was sitting on the couch with my camera deleting old pictures the other night when Tyler and Tommy started to play on the floor. As I was watching them wrestle around like usual, it dawned on me that maybe the rest of the world would like to see what a typical night of play entails and maybe explain why Tyler is not as gentle as he used to be ...

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Why yes, there is!!!!! Three years in the making and worth every second of it. Tommy, you will never know how proud we are of you and all of your accomplishments. I am amazed how you have managed to earn your PhD in between 4 moves and 2 kids while still holding down a full time job and being the best husband and father anyone could hope for. Congratulations baby!

When The Cat's Away...

... The mouse will play with big brother's scooter. Poor Carson has been eyeing Ty's scooter for days, wanting to really play on it. I think the only thing that stopped him from climbing on was the innate fear of getting his little fingers run over. When Tommy took Tyler to the store tonight, I went ahead and parked him on it- with clear and present danger at Food City for the time being. Do they make scooters for 8 month olds?

Carson Is 8 Months Old!!!

There is never a dull moment with Carson- his personality is bigger than life. Carson crawls faster than I can walk and paired with uncanny hearing (inherited from his dad)- you will be whispering in another room and he will take off down the hall to find your voice. He is in to everything and we are having to put all of Tyler's toys on the very top shelf. Tommy and I could swear we have heard him say "momma" at least 4 times, but regardless- he is trying to talk and imitate sounds every second of every day. He gets tickled if you just look at him and has the sweetest smile and laugh in the world. His two teeth love to eat pears, blueberries and oatmeal and his favorite thing to do is drink water from a straw (and to go after Tyler's blue bear and harmonica). Today Tyler and Carson were actually wresting on the floor laughing- I fear what our living room is going to look like in a few years. We love you Carson and cannot imagine our family without you. Happy 8 months big boy!

Playground Time

Tommy went to our storage unit and brought home our wagon. It has taken me this long to even want to see it again after Tyler breaking his leg two summers ago. I pulled him around in this every day for over 6 weeks. If we wanted to go anywhere and the wagon could not go, neither could we. Those days are past and finally we have a new purpose for the old Radio Flyer- to pull TWO passengers. Carson loved riding to the playground...actually he loved just sitting with Tyler and staring at him the entire time. It amazes me how he is already trying to mimic everything his big brother does. Tommy and I are betting he will be walking by February just so that he will be able to keep up with Tyler.

When we finally arrived at the playground, Tommy was telling Tyler that Carson also was going to slide and swing. In the picture above, Carson is actually at the top of a slide and Tyler is trying to gently push him to go down on his belly (he did not btw- I grabbed him immediately after I took the shot).

Besides being thrown up in the air like a rag doll- Carson also loves to ride horsey on the nearest victims shoulder. One realizes why they are a victim after having your hair pulled on like reins, not to mention soaking wet from drool after about 3 minutes.